Project acronym 2D-CHEM
Project Two-Dimensional Chemistry towards New Graphene Derivatives
Researcher (PI) Michal Otyepka
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERZITA PALACKEHO V OLOMOUCI
Country Czechia
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE5, ERC-2015-CoG
Summary The suite of graphene’s unique properties and applications can be enormously enhanced by its functionalization. As non-covalently functionalized graphenes do not target all graphene’s properties and may suffer from limited stability, covalent functionalization represents a promising way for controlling graphene’s properties. To date, only a few well-defined graphene derivatives have been introduced. Among them, fluorographene (FG) stands out as a prominent member because of its easy synthesis and high stability. Being a perfluorinated hydrocarbon, FG was believed to be as unreactive as the two-dimensional counterpart perfluoropolyethylene (Teflon®). However, our recent experiments showed that FG is not chemically inert and can be used as a viable precursor for synthesizing graphene derivatives. This surprising behavior indicates that common textbook grade knowledge cannot blindly be applied to the chemistry of 2D materials. Further, there might be specific rules behind the chemistry of 2D materials, forming a new chemical discipline we tentatively call 2D chemistry. The main aim of the project is to explore, identify and apply the rules of 2D chemistry starting from FG. Using the knowledge gained of 2D chemistry, we will attempt to control the chemistry of various 2D materials aimed at preparing stable graphene derivatives with designed properties, e.g., 1-3 eV band gap, fluorescent properties, sustainable magnetic ordering and dispersability in polar media. The new graphene derivatives will be applied in sensing, imaging, magnetic delivery and catalysis and new emerging applications arising from the synergistic phenomena are expected. We envisage that new applications will be opened up that benefit from the 2D scaffold and tailored properties of the synthesized derivatives. The derivatives will be used for the synthesis of 3D hybrid materials by covalent linking of the 2D sheets joined with other organic and inorganic molecules, nanomaterials or biomacromolecules.
Summary
The suite of graphene’s unique properties and applications can be enormously enhanced by its functionalization. As non-covalently functionalized graphenes do not target all graphene’s properties and may suffer from limited stability, covalent functionalization represents a promising way for controlling graphene’s properties. To date, only a few well-defined graphene derivatives have been introduced. Among them, fluorographene (FG) stands out as a prominent member because of its easy synthesis and high stability. Being a perfluorinated hydrocarbon, FG was believed to be as unreactive as the two-dimensional counterpart perfluoropolyethylene (Teflon®). However, our recent experiments showed that FG is not chemically inert and can be used as a viable precursor for synthesizing graphene derivatives. This surprising behavior indicates that common textbook grade knowledge cannot blindly be applied to the chemistry of 2D materials. Further, there might be specific rules behind the chemistry of 2D materials, forming a new chemical discipline we tentatively call 2D chemistry. The main aim of the project is to explore, identify and apply the rules of 2D chemistry starting from FG. Using the knowledge gained of 2D chemistry, we will attempt to control the chemistry of various 2D materials aimed at preparing stable graphene derivatives with designed properties, e.g., 1-3 eV band gap, fluorescent properties, sustainable magnetic ordering and dispersability in polar media. The new graphene derivatives will be applied in sensing, imaging, magnetic delivery and catalysis and new emerging applications arising from the synergistic phenomena are expected. We envisage that new applications will be opened up that benefit from the 2D scaffold and tailored properties of the synthesized derivatives. The derivatives will be used for the synthesis of 3D hybrid materials by covalent linking of the 2D sheets joined with other organic and inorganic molecules, nanomaterials or biomacromolecules.
Max ERC Funding
1 831 103 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-06-01, End date: 2022-05-31
Project acronym AI4REASON
Project Artificial Intelligence for Large-Scale Computer-Assisted Reasoning
Researcher (PI) Josef Urban
Host Institution (HI) CESKE VYSOKE UCENI TECHNICKE V PRAZE
Country Czechia
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE6, ERC-2014-CoG
Summary The goal of the AI4REASON project is a breakthrough in what is considered a very hard problem in AI and automation of reasoning, namely the problem of automatically proving theorems in large and complex theories. Such complex formal theories arise in projects aimed at verification of today's advanced mathematics such as the Formal Proof of the Kepler Conjecture (Flyspeck), verification of software and hardware designs such as the seL4 operating system kernel, and verification of other advanced systems and technologies on which today's information society critically depends.
It seems extremely complex and unlikely to design an explicitly programmed solution to the problem. However, we have recently demonstrated that the performance of existing approaches can be multiplied by data-driven AI methods that learn reasoning guidance from large proof corpora. The breakthrough will be achieved by developing such novel AI methods. First, we will devise suitable Automated Reasoning and Machine Learning methods that learn reasoning knowledge and steer the reasoning processes at various levels of granularity. Second, we will combine them into autonomous self-improving AI systems that interleave deduction and learning in positive feedback loops. Third, we will develop approaches that aggregate reasoning knowledge across many formal, semi-formal and informal corpora and deploy the methods as strong automation services for the formal proof community.
The expected outcome is our ability to prove automatically at least 50% more theorems in high-assurance projects such as Flyspeck and seL4, bringing a major breakthrough in formal reasoning and verification. As an AI effort, the project offers a unique path to large-scale semantic AI. The formal corpora concentrate centuries of deep human thinking in a computer-understandable form on which deductive and inductive AI can be combined and co-evolved, providing new insights into how humans do mathematics and science.
Summary
The goal of the AI4REASON project is a breakthrough in what is considered a very hard problem in AI and automation of reasoning, namely the problem of automatically proving theorems in large and complex theories. Such complex formal theories arise in projects aimed at verification of today's advanced mathematics such as the Formal Proof of the Kepler Conjecture (Flyspeck), verification of software and hardware designs such as the seL4 operating system kernel, and verification of other advanced systems and technologies on which today's information society critically depends.
It seems extremely complex and unlikely to design an explicitly programmed solution to the problem. However, we have recently demonstrated that the performance of existing approaches can be multiplied by data-driven AI methods that learn reasoning guidance from large proof corpora. The breakthrough will be achieved by developing such novel AI methods. First, we will devise suitable Automated Reasoning and Machine Learning methods that learn reasoning knowledge and steer the reasoning processes at various levels of granularity. Second, we will combine them into autonomous self-improving AI systems that interleave deduction and learning in positive feedback loops. Third, we will develop approaches that aggregate reasoning knowledge across many formal, semi-formal and informal corpora and deploy the methods as strong automation services for the formal proof community.
The expected outcome is our ability to prove automatically at least 50% more theorems in high-assurance projects such as Flyspeck and seL4, bringing a major breakthrough in formal reasoning and verification. As an AI effort, the project offers a unique path to large-scale semantic AI. The formal corpora concentrate centuries of deep human thinking in a computer-understandable form on which deductive and inductive AI can be combined and co-evolved, providing new insights into how humans do mathematics and science.
Max ERC Funding
1 499 500 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-09-01, End date: 2020-10-31
Project acronym FoTran
Project Found in Translation – Natural Language Understanding with Cross-Lingual Grounding
Researcher (PI) Joerg TIEDEMANN
Host Institution (HI) HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
Country Finland
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE6, ERC-2017-COG
Summary "Natural language understanding is the ""holy grail"" of computational linguistics and a long-term goal in research on artificial intelligence. Understanding human communication is difficult due to the various ambiguities in natural languages and the wide range of contextual dependencies required to resolve them. Discovering the semantics behind language input is necessary for proper interpretation in interactive tools, which requires an abstraction from language-specific forms to language-independent meaning representations. With this project, I propose a line of research that will focus on the development of novel data-driven models that can learn such meaning representations from indirect supervision provided by human translations covering a substantial proportion of the linguistic diversity in the world. A guiding principle is cross-lingual grounding, the effect of resolving ambiguities through translation. The beauty of that idea is the use of naturally occurring data instead of artificially created resources and costly manual annotations. The framework is based on deep learning and neural machine translation and my hypothesis is that training on increasing amounts of linguistically diverse data improves the abstractions found by the model. Eventually, this will lead to universal sentence-level meaning representations and we will test our ideas with multilingual machine translation and tasks that require semantic reasoning and inference."
Summary
"Natural language understanding is the ""holy grail"" of computational linguistics and a long-term goal in research on artificial intelligence. Understanding human communication is difficult due to the various ambiguities in natural languages and the wide range of contextual dependencies required to resolve them. Discovering the semantics behind language input is necessary for proper interpretation in interactive tools, which requires an abstraction from language-specific forms to language-independent meaning representations. With this project, I propose a line of research that will focus on the development of novel data-driven models that can learn such meaning representations from indirect supervision provided by human translations covering a substantial proportion of the linguistic diversity in the world. A guiding principle is cross-lingual grounding, the effect of resolving ambiguities through translation. The beauty of that idea is the use of naturally occurring data instead of artificially created resources and costly manual annotations. The framework is based on deep learning and neural machine translation and my hypothesis is that training on increasing amounts of linguistically diverse data improves the abstractions found by the model. Eventually, this will lead to universal sentence-level meaning representations and we will test our ideas with multilingual machine translation and tasks that require semantic reasoning and inference."
Max ERC Funding
1 817 622 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-09-01, End date: 2023-08-31
Project acronym INDIRECT
Project Intergenerational Cumulative Disadvantage and Resource Compensation
Researcher (PI) Jani Petteri Erola
Host Institution (HI) TURUN YLIOPISTO
Country Finland
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), SH2, ERC-2013-CoG
Summary "The previous literature has not been able to successfully explain why the loss of the certain family resources does not show as a weaker attainment. Neither the country differences in socioeconomic inheritance seem to reflect the institutional differences between them. We argue that these problems have followed from ignoring resource compensation. The lost capital (economic, human/cultural or social) may be replaced with the other types or with the resources of someone else (the new or extended family members or neighbors). European and other developed societies can be distinguished by their abilities to influence the compensation of the loss of the parental resources rather than by their direct impact on inheritance.
We study compensation in three analytic contexts:
1) Life-course changes followed by the loss of parental resources. The specific events to be considered are parental bereavement, separation, unemployment and geographical mobility.
2) Period changes in society reducing resources in many families approximately at the same time. The examples to be analyzed are economic recession, the inflation of educational credentials due to increasing overall level of education and changing family structures and family formation processes.
3) Structural disadvantage associated with lower level of parental resources. The forms of inequality to be analyzed include the number of siblings sharing the parental resources and childhood neighborhood and the compensation of low resources with the resources of the parents of the spouse.
We use high level Finnish register panel data to analyze the loss compensation after specific life course events. The results are compared to those acquired from German SOEP data and US-based PSID data. Multiple country comparisons are conducted using ESS. The project combines three novel analytic approaches: sibling correlation methods, conditional multinomial (event history) models and sequence analysis."
Summary
"The previous literature has not been able to successfully explain why the loss of the certain family resources does not show as a weaker attainment. Neither the country differences in socioeconomic inheritance seem to reflect the institutional differences between them. We argue that these problems have followed from ignoring resource compensation. The lost capital (economic, human/cultural or social) may be replaced with the other types or with the resources of someone else (the new or extended family members or neighbors). European and other developed societies can be distinguished by their abilities to influence the compensation of the loss of the parental resources rather than by their direct impact on inheritance.
We study compensation in three analytic contexts:
1) Life-course changes followed by the loss of parental resources. The specific events to be considered are parental bereavement, separation, unemployment and geographical mobility.
2) Period changes in society reducing resources in many families approximately at the same time. The examples to be analyzed are economic recession, the inflation of educational credentials due to increasing overall level of education and changing family structures and family formation processes.
3) Structural disadvantage associated with lower level of parental resources. The forms of inequality to be analyzed include the number of siblings sharing the parental resources and childhood neighborhood and the compensation of low resources with the resources of the parents of the spouse.
We use high level Finnish register panel data to analyze the loss compensation after specific life course events. The results are compared to those acquired from German SOEP data and US-based PSID data. Multiple country comparisons are conducted using ESS. The project combines three novel analytic approaches: sibling correlation methods, conditional multinomial (event history) models and sequence analysis."
Max ERC Funding
1 880 328 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-04-01, End date: 2019-03-31
Project acronym IPTheoryUnified
Project Inverse boundary problems: toward a unified theory
Researcher (PI) Mikko SALO
Host Institution (HI) JYVASKYLAN YLIOPISTO
Country Finland
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE1, ERC-2017-COG
Summary This proposal is concerned with the mathematical theory of inverse problems. This is a vibrant research field at the intersection of pure and applied mathematics, drawing techniques from PDE, geometry, and harmonic analysis as well as generating new research questions inspired by applications. Prominent questions include the Calderón problem related to electrical imaging, the Gel'fand problem related to seismic imaging, and geometric inverse problems such as inversion of the geodesic X-ray transform.
Recently, exciting new connections between these different topics have begun to emerge in the work of the PI and others, such as:
- The explicit appearance of the geodesic X-ray transform in the Calderón problem.
- An unexpected connection between the Calderón and Gel’fand problems involving control theory.
- Pseudo-linearization as a potential unifying principle for reducing nonlinear problems to linear ones.
- The introduction of microlocal normal forms in inverse problems for PDE.
These examples strongly suggest that there is a larger picture behind various different inverse problems, which remains to be fully revealed.
This project will explore the possibility of a unified theory for several inverse boundary problems. Particular objectives include:
1. The use of normal forms and pseudo-linearization as a unified point of view, including reductions to questions in integral geometry and control theory.
2. The solution of integral geometry problems, including the analysis of convex foliations, invertibility of ray transforms, and a systematic Carleman estimate approach to uniqueness results.
3. A theory of inverse problems for nonlocal models based on control theory arguments.
Such a unified theory could have remarkable consequences even in other fields of mathematics, including controllability methods in transport theory, a solution of the boundary rigidity problem in geometry, or a general pseudo-linearization approach for solving nonlinear operator equations.
Summary
This proposal is concerned with the mathematical theory of inverse problems. This is a vibrant research field at the intersection of pure and applied mathematics, drawing techniques from PDE, geometry, and harmonic analysis as well as generating new research questions inspired by applications. Prominent questions include the Calderón problem related to electrical imaging, the Gel'fand problem related to seismic imaging, and geometric inverse problems such as inversion of the geodesic X-ray transform.
Recently, exciting new connections between these different topics have begun to emerge in the work of the PI and others, such as:
- The explicit appearance of the geodesic X-ray transform in the Calderón problem.
- An unexpected connection between the Calderón and Gel’fand problems involving control theory.
- Pseudo-linearization as a potential unifying principle for reducing nonlinear problems to linear ones.
- The introduction of microlocal normal forms in inverse problems for PDE.
These examples strongly suggest that there is a larger picture behind various different inverse problems, which remains to be fully revealed.
This project will explore the possibility of a unified theory for several inverse boundary problems. Particular objectives include:
1. The use of normal forms and pseudo-linearization as a unified point of view, including reductions to questions in integral geometry and control theory.
2. The solution of integral geometry problems, including the analysis of convex foliations, invertibility of ray transforms, and a systematic Carleman estimate approach to uniqueness results.
3. A theory of inverse problems for nonlocal models based on control theory arguments.
Such a unified theory could have remarkable consequences even in other fields of mathematics, including controllability methods in transport theory, a solution of the boundary rigidity problem in geometry, or a general pseudo-linearization approach for solving nonlinear operator equations.
Max ERC Funding
920 880 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-05-01, End date: 2023-04-30
Project acronym KETJU
Project Post-Newtonian modelling of the dynamics of supermassive black holes in galactic-scale hydrodynamical simulations (KETJU)
Researcher (PI) Peter Hilding JOHANSSON
Host Institution (HI) HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
Country Finland
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE9, ERC-2018-COG
Summary Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) with masses in the range ~10^6-10^10 M⊙ are found at the centres of all massive galaxies in the Local Universe. In the ΛCDM picture of structure formation galaxies grow bottom-up through mergers and gas accretion, leading to multiple SMBHs in the same stellar system. Current simulation codes are unable to resolve in a single simulation the full SMBH merging process, which involves dynamical friction, three-body interactions and finally gravitational wave (GW) emission. KETJU will provide a significant breakthrough in SMBH research by following for the first time accurately global galactic-scale dynamical and gaseous astrophysical processes, while simultaneously solving the dynamics of SMBHs, SMBH binaries and surrounding stellar systems at sub-parsec scales. Our code KETJU (the word for 'chain' in Finnish) is built on the GADGET-3 code and it includes regions around every SMBH in which the dynamics of SMBHs and stellar particles is modelled using a non-softened Post-Newtonian algorithmic chain regularisation technique. The remaining simulation particles far from the SMBHs are evolved using softened GADGET-3. Using KETJU we can study at unprecedented accuracy the dynamics of SMBHs to separations of ~10 Schwarzschild radii, the formation of cores in massive galaxies, the formation of nuclear stellar clusters and finally provide a realistic prediction for the amplitude and frequency distribution of the cosmological gravitational wave background. The UH theoretical extragalactic team is ideally suited for this project, as it has an unusually versatile background in modelling the dynamics, feedback and merging of SMBHs. KETJU is also particularly timely, as the spectacular direct detection of GWs in 2016 is paving the way for a new era in gravitational wave astronomy. Future space-borne GW observatories, such as the European Space Agency's LISA, require accurate global GW predictions in order to fully realise their science goals.
Summary
Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) with masses in the range ~10^6-10^10 M⊙ are found at the centres of all massive galaxies in the Local Universe. In the ΛCDM picture of structure formation galaxies grow bottom-up through mergers and gas accretion, leading to multiple SMBHs in the same stellar system. Current simulation codes are unable to resolve in a single simulation the full SMBH merging process, which involves dynamical friction, three-body interactions and finally gravitational wave (GW) emission. KETJU will provide a significant breakthrough in SMBH research by following for the first time accurately global galactic-scale dynamical and gaseous astrophysical processes, while simultaneously solving the dynamics of SMBHs, SMBH binaries and surrounding stellar systems at sub-parsec scales. Our code KETJU (the word for 'chain' in Finnish) is built on the GADGET-3 code and it includes regions around every SMBH in which the dynamics of SMBHs and stellar particles is modelled using a non-softened Post-Newtonian algorithmic chain regularisation technique. The remaining simulation particles far from the SMBHs are evolved using softened GADGET-3. Using KETJU we can study at unprecedented accuracy the dynamics of SMBHs to separations of ~10 Schwarzschild radii, the formation of cores in massive galaxies, the formation of nuclear stellar clusters and finally provide a realistic prediction for the amplitude and frequency distribution of the cosmological gravitational wave background. The UH theoretical extragalactic team is ideally suited for this project, as it has an unusually versatile background in modelling the dynamics, feedback and merging of SMBHs. KETJU is also particularly timely, as the spectacular direct detection of GWs in 2016 is paving the way for a new era in gravitational wave astronomy. Future space-borne GW observatories, such as the European Space Agency's LISA, require accurate global GW predictions in order to fully realise their science goals.
Max ERC Funding
1 953 569 €
Duration
Start date: 2019-07-01, End date: 2024-06-30
Project acronym PRESTISSIMO
Project Plasma Reconnection, Shocks and Turbulence in Solar System Interactions: Modelling and Observations
Researcher (PI) MINNA MARIA EMILIA Palmroth
Host Institution (HI) HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
Country Finland
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE9, ERC-2015-CoG
Summary This project combines the forefront space physics with top-tier high performance computing. Three phenomena are above others in importance in explaining plasma behaviour in the Solar-Terrestrial system, laboratories, fusion devices, and astrophysical domains: 1) magnetic reconnection enabling energy and mass transfer between magnetic domains, 2) collisionless shocks forming due to supersonic relative flow speeds between plasmas, and 3) particle acceleration associated with both. These processes are critical in understanding the scientific foundation of space weather, i.e., harmful effects caused by enhanced radiation and dynamical processes that endanger space- and ground-based technological systems or human life. Space weather forecasts require physics-based models; however, to date only simple plasma descriptions have been used in the global context. We have developed the first 6-dimensional global magnetospheric kinetic simulation in the world, Vlasiator, promising a grand leap both in understanding fundamental space plasma physics, and in improving the accuracy of present space weather models. Combining the unique Vlasiator with newest spacecraft data, local kinetic physics can be interpreted in global context in a ground-breaking fashion. We examine in the global and self-consistent context
1. Near-Earth reconnection,
2. Ion-scale phenomena in the near-Earth shocks,
3. Particle acceleration by shocks and reconnection,
4. Inner magnetospheric wave-particle processes, and the consequent particle precipitation into the ionosphere.
The proposed work is now feasible thanks to increased computational capabilities and Vlasiator. The newest space missions produce high-fidelity multi-point observations that require directly comparable global kinetic simulations offered by Vlasiator. The proposing team has an outstanding record and a leading role in global space physics modelling.
Summary
This project combines the forefront space physics with top-tier high performance computing. Three phenomena are above others in importance in explaining plasma behaviour in the Solar-Terrestrial system, laboratories, fusion devices, and astrophysical domains: 1) magnetic reconnection enabling energy and mass transfer between magnetic domains, 2) collisionless shocks forming due to supersonic relative flow speeds between plasmas, and 3) particle acceleration associated with both. These processes are critical in understanding the scientific foundation of space weather, i.e., harmful effects caused by enhanced radiation and dynamical processes that endanger space- and ground-based technological systems or human life. Space weather forecasts require physics-based models; however, to date only simple plasma descriptions have been used in the global context. We have developed the first 6-dimensional global magnetospheric kinetic simulation in the world, Vlasiator, promising a grand leap both in understanding fundamental space plasma physics, and in improving the accuracy of present space weather models. Combining the unique Vlasiator with newest spacecraft data, local kinetic physics can be interpreted in global context in a ground-breaking fashion. We examine in the global and self-consistent context
1. Near-Earth reconnection,
2. Ion-scale phenomena in the near-Earth shocks,
3. Particle acceleration by shocks and reconnection,
4. Inner magnetospheric wave-particle processes, and the consequent particle precipitation into the ionosphere.
The proposed work is now feasible thanks to increased computational capabilities and Vlasiator. The newest space missions produce high-fidelity multi-point observations that require directly comparable global kinetic simulations offered by Vlasiator. The proposing team has an outstanding record and a leading role in global space physics modelling.
Max ERC Funding
1 998 054 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-06-01, End date: 2022-05-31
Project acronym SMAC-MC
Project Small Molecule Activation by Main-Group Compounds
Researcher (PI) Heikki Markus Tuononen
Host Institution (HI) JYVASKYLAN YLIOPISTO
Country Finland
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE5, ERC-2017-COG
Summary Many basic chemical processes involve the activation of small unreactive molecules, such as hydrogen, nitrogen, ammonia, water and carbon dioxide, by transition-metal-based catalysts or by enzymes. This proposal focusses on the interesting and recently observed possibility to perform similar transformations with main-group compounds that consist entirely of cheap earth-abundant elements. The proposed research is split into four work packages of which the first investigates the mechanisms by which different main-group singlet diradicaloids activate small molecules and how their reactivity correlates with their radical character. The second work package focusses on small molecule activation using main-group metalloid clusters, a new emerging field that we have recently pioneered, and compares the reactivity determined for main-group species with that known for related transition-metal clusters. Investigations in the third work package concentrate on the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide and on the possibility to lower the required overpotential with frustrated Lewis pairs that readily form adducts with small molecules. The fourth work package revolves around activating small molecules by diborenes and, in particular, observing novel reactivity in situ, that is, before the reactive diborene is trapped with a suitable Lewis base. Considered as a whole, the planned initiatives will enable significant breakthroughs in the design of novel main-group element based compounds for the activation of small molecules. The research is not only of fundamental scientific importance but also of potential practical value as many main-group systems, such as frustrated Lewis pairs, are currently being examined as novel catalysts. An ERC consolidator grant would significantly strengthen my position in this interesting subfield of inorganic chemistry and give my research group practical means to continue performing cutting-edge research.
Summary
Many basic chemical processes involve the activation of small unreactive molecules, such as hydrogen, nitrogen, ammonia, water and carbon dioxide, by transition-metal-based catalysts or by enzymes. This proposal focusses on the interesting and recently observed possibility to perform similar transformations with main-group compounds that consist entirely of cheap earth-abundant elements. The proposed research is split into four work packages of which the first investigates the mechanisms by which different main-group singlet diradicaloids activate small molecules and how their reactivity correlates with their radical character. The second work package focusses on small molecule activation using main-group metalloid clusters, a new emerging field that we have recently pioneered, and compares the reactivity determined for main-group species with that known for related transition-metal clusters. Investigations in the third work package concentrate on the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide and on the possibility to lower the required overpotential with frustrated Lewis pairs that readily form adducts with small molecules. The fourth work package revolves around activating small molecules by diborenes and, in particular, observing novel reactivity in situ, that is, before the reactive diborene is trapped with a suitable Lewis base. Considered as a whole, the planned initiatives will enable significant breakthroughs in the design of novel main-group element based compounds for the activation of small molecules. The research is not only of fundamental scientific importance but also of potential practical value as many main-group systems, such as frustrated Lewis pairs, are currently being examined as novel catalysts. An ERC consolidator grant would significantly strengthen my position in this interesting subfield of inorganic chemistry and give my research group practical means to continue performing cutting-edge research.
Max ERC Funding
1 424 190 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-07-01, End date: 2023-06-30
Project acronym SolMAG
Project Unravelling The Structure and Evolution of Solar Magnetic Flux Ropes and Their Magnetosheaths
Researcher (PI) Emilia KILPUA
Host Institution (HI) HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
Country Finland
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE9, ERC-2016-COG
Summary Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are spectacular stellar eruptions that carry huge amounts of plasma and magnetic flux into the space. The interests in their origin, structure, and dynamics reach from fundamental plasma physics to paramount impact on their parent stars and the surrounding planets. One of the most outstanding problems in the studies of CMEs is the lack of reliable information on their magnetic field properties until observed directly. This severely limits our understanding of many aspects in the lifespan of CMEs and their far-reaching consequences. SolMAG will deliver realistic and detailed information of the magnetic fields in CMEs. We will further use this knowledge to obtain significant breakthroughs in CME research, including unravelling physical processes that control CME initiation and evolution, and characterizing formation and interaction of key CME structures. A unique opportunity is provided by recent advances in data-driven and time-dependent numerical simulations and state-of-the-art high-quality remote-sensing solar observations. We will form an unprecedented synthesis of a revolutionary coupled coronal simulation my group is now developing and innovative cross-scale observational analyses. UH space physics team is exceptionally well-placed to carry out this challenging project: We have an unusually versatile background in CME research and strong experience both in numerical simulations and data analysis covering the whole Sun to Earth chain. SolMAG is also particularly timely now when our society is becoming increasingly dependent on technology that solar eruptions have potential to damage and the role of CMEs influencing planetary and stellar evolution is being emphasized. In addition, this project will be an important contribution to European Space Agency’s activities, including the future Solar Orbiter and BebiColombo missions, which also provides a natural exit strategy for this project.
Summary
Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are spectacular stellar eruptions that carry huge amounts of plasma and magnetic flux into the space. The interests in their origin, structure, and dynamics reach from fundamental plasma physics to paramount impact on their parent stars and the surrounding planets. One of the most outstanding problems in the studies of CMEs is the lack of reliable information on their magnetic field properties until observed directly. This severely limits our understanding of many aspects in the lifespan of CMEs and their far-reaching consequences. SolMAG will deliver realistic and detailed information of the magnetic fields in CMEs. We will further use this knowledge to obtain significant breakthroughs in CME research, including unravelling physical processes that control CME initiation and evolution, and characterizing formation and interaction of key CME structures. A unique opportunity is provided by recent advances in data-driven and time-dependent numerical simulations and state-of-the-art high-quality remote-sensing solar observations. We will form an unprecedented synthesis of a revolutionary coupled coronal simulation my group is now developing and innovative cross-scale observational analyses. UH space physics team is exceptionally well-placed to carry out this challenging project: We have an unusually versatile background in CME research and strong experience both in numerical simulations and data analysis covering the whole Sun to Earth chain. SolMAG is also particularly timely now when our society is becoming increasingly dependent on technology that solar eruptions have potential to damage and the role of CMEs influencing planetary and stellar evolution is being emphasized. In addition, this project will be an important contribution to European Space Agency’s activities, including the future Solar Orbiter and BebiColombo missions, which also provides a natural exit strategy for this project.
Max ERC Funding
1 934 876 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-06-01, End date: 2022-05-31
Project acronym SpaceLaw
Project Law, Governance and Space: Questioning the Foundations of the Republican Tradition
Researcher (PI) Kaius Tapani TUORI
Host Institution (HI) HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
Country Finland
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), SH2, ERC-2017-COG
Summary Administrative professionalization is the hallmark of a modern state, but its origins contain a dilemma. Why there were no offices in ancient Rome? How is it possible that it nevertheless formed the model for the Western administrative state? The purpose of this project is to challenge earlier research and to propose a new model of the Roman Republican governance that integrates domestic and private space and to reinterpret its links with the Republican tradition.
The significance of these issues extends much beyond this: the development of administrative space in the European context amounts to nothing less than the emergence of the concept of public. Ever since Weber, the conceptual separation of the office and its holder has defined the European way of governance. The origin of this separation of public and private has often been seen in the Roman Republican state with its strict responsibilities, term limits and defined powers of its magistracies, who operated in open public spaces.
Using unconventional methodological tools to challenge the conventional view, the project explores the social and cultural dimensions of legal and administrative space, transcending modern assumptions of public and private. Two main research questions explore the confrontation of ideas and their contexts from the Roman Republic to modern Republicanism:
1) How the conflict between Republican ideals, political power and administrative practices transformed the spaces of administration?
2) How this conflict changed the social topography of Rome, the public and private spheres of governance?
While much of the earlier research on Republican administration has been constitutional, focused on sovereignty or the individual magistrates, this project advances a radical new interpretation through spatial and topographical analysis. It is a comprehensive re-evaluation of the Roman administrative tradition and its links with the European heritage through the lens of administrative space.
Summary
Administrative professionalization is the hallmark of a modern state, but its origins contain a dilemma. Why there were no offices in ancient Rome? How is it possible that it nevertheless formed the model for the Western administrative state? The purpose of this project is to challenge earlier research and to propose a new model of the Roman Republican governance that integrates domestic and private space and to reinterpret its links with the Republican tradition.
The significance of these issues extends much beyond this: the development of administrative space in the European context amounts to nothing less than the emergence of the concept of public. Ever since Weber, the conceptual separation of the office and its holder has defined the European way of governance. The origin of this separation of public and private has often been seen in the Roman Republican state with its strict responsibilities, term limits and defined powers of its magistracies, who operated in open public spaces.
Using unconventional methodological tools to challenge the conventional view, the project explores the social and cultural dimensions of legal and administrative space, transcending modern assumptions of public and private. Two main research questions explore the confrontation of ideas and their contexts from the Roman Republic to modern Republicanism:
1) How the conflict between Republican ideals, political power and administrative practices transformed the spaces of administration?
2) How this conflict changed the social topography of Rome, the public and private spheres of governance?
While much of the earlier research on Republican administration has been constitutional, focused on sovereignty or the individual magistrates, this project advances a radical new interpretation through spatial and topographical analysis. It is a comprehensive re-evaluation of the Roman administrative tradition and its links with the European heritage through the lens of administrative space.
Max ERC Funding
1 994 326 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-05-01, End date: 2023-04-30
